Boy did I scoop today!!

[theo]

At my job I deal with the public. On friday this guy walks in and during the conversation he mentions he has a fish tank for sale. I went to look at it today and picked up a 100 gal with wood canopy and stand and a ton of filtration stuff for $300.00 bucks! Its in an office building that the guy bought and just wants to get rid of it. The tank is in mint condition and is probably about 2 years old. Yahooooooooo:blob: Now I just got to move it. Anybody know of any fish tank movers? It has to go from the west end to Cambridge and I have no truck.

[ajx22]

Good deal!!

So now you just have to stock it! ;) ;)

As for the moving - you can rent a truck for like $20.00 for 1/2 the day, and just get a few guys to help you. A 100Gal empty doesn't weigh all that much...so it won't bee too much of a strain!

That would be your cheapest route...I'm sure that moving companies would do it too...but that's getting into the $$$ for them to cover it under insurance!

Good luck Joe...and you know who to call to 'assist' you in getting it all up-and-running! :D

Ciao,

[Dman]

Nice Scoop indeed !!!
The tank empty shouldn't be too much trouble, I say that 'cause my 200 was a PIA, 550lbs.

[canadawest]

I have a 100gal glass tank that is custom made (aka thicker glass than a manufactured tank) and empty it can be moved by two able people, so I would imagine a manufactured tank shouldn't be any more heavy or difficult to transport.

Just be sure to put a cushion of some sort under it (blankets, etc), and ensure that it won't slide or fall over in the truck. I actually was able to drop the rear seat down in my Explorer and take it and the stand home inside my truck. (5' tank and stand)

I got mine also in a similar deal. $250 in the local Buy&Sell for the tank, stand, canopy and miscellaneous equipment. I ended up having to paint the stand, and tossed the canopy and made a new one. But I also sold the equipment (nothing I wanted or needed for a reef tank) for $50, and put it towards the materials for the new canopy. So the tank and stand only cost me $200. Tank is a bit scratched up, but for the price it could not be passed up. And when you are just getting into a hobby as expensive as this one is, you want to save money wherever you can!

So, congrats on your find!

[theo]

Thanx for the cudos. I think this may be a custom tank aswell. The glass looks like its about an inch thick. How thick is the glass with a manufactured tank. The cabinet is stained black so I'll have to paint or strip and bleach or something, but thats the least of it. Did you have any problems with it leaking after the move? Also when you did transport did you move it on a board or something to prevent it shifting?

[canadawest]

Yeah my glass is about 3/4" or 7/8" thick (not quite 1" I don't think) and quite heavy. I believe most manufactured tanks of that size are only 1/2" glass for the sides and 3/4" for the bottom. Check out Oceanic or Hagen's websites, they'll probably tell you the glass thickness they use. Just remember that the larger the tank, the thicker the glass that's used.

With regards to leaking, I followed the first rule of thumb with a new tank - fill it for 24 hours to check for leaks. This goes for new or used tanks.

Actually what I did was put it outside on the front lawn and cleaned it with a bleach/water mixture, rinsed it really well, then let it dry in the sun for a couple hours. Now I was confident that it was sanitary and sterilized. I then placed it on the living room floor on top of newspapers, and filled it with fresh water from the garden hose. I then let it sit for 24 hours and checked for any wet spots on the newspaper. It passed the leak test, so it was emptied and then put on the stand in it's final resting place. At this point you want to make sure that your tank is perfectly level, because once it's full you'll never be able to adjust it. Also be sure that you're locating the tank on flooring that is solid. (Remember, a 100gal tank weighs 2000+lbs when full of water/sand/rock) You don't want that crashing through the floor, or even settling!

And like I mentioned for transporting, I actually had the ability to hold it in the back of my Explorer, so it was already on carpeting and was much to heavy to shift around. Just be careful around corners, and be sure that nothing else will topple onto the tank (like the stand or anything else back there with it).

[Daniel Schubert]

Theo
sounds like a nice tank. when I moved my 75 Gallon Oceanic tank I just put in the back of a van. I just covered it in blankets so it wouldn't slide and get damaged. I had a 33 gallon tank that I moved a total of 6 times (Presently over 25 years old) I never had it leak once after the moves.
Daniel

[theo]

Thank for support folks. I'm going to move it tomorrow. I don't want to slam but NEVER rely on other small business aquarium stores in the Brampton area to move something for you. Even when they said they would be there upon hire and just didn't show. By the way A.J, I think its time to look into ordering a skid of Southdown playsand......if you can get it. Wish me luck.

Joe:blob:

[ajx22]

Hey Theo...

I'm already on that! Have been trying to negotiate getting it in, but the company is restructuring (due to our hobby), and they aren't sure of the 'new' selling prices yet.

I will keep everyone up-to-date on this, and as other things progress.

Good luck with the move!!!

[theo]

Oh ya......there goes the price. What other subtrates do you have?

[theo]

Well its done! I moved the tank and went fine. It wasn't bad at all. the tank wil sit now in my sisters basement until at least April. Oh well, this will give me time to plan and refinish the cabinet. When I took the tank off of the stand though there was a price written on it, I guess for the set of 1369.99 yahoo. thats pretty cool. Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I was thinking though that maybe I should do another bead of silicone all over the seams on the inside just to be safe...........Any thoughts?:blob:


Hey A.J.....how can I get this little blob guy to come up with my name when I post? He's cute.

[ajx22]

You are now a Green Blob! ;)

[theo]

WOW.......THANKS. Just what i always wanted to be.

cheers
Joe